July 8, 2012

After spending 10 days in the hospital David was happy to get out, but life without the 24-hour care of medical professionals has been an adjustment. The highlights of being home include: not being woken up in the middle of the night to have vitals checked and constant access to Max! On the flip side, the hospital provided two important things to ease David's pain: the "pain button" which released a jolt of pain medicine every ten minutes and walking laps around the floor. Both of those things are a bit more difficult at home. Not having the pain button has been bearable, but the ridiculous heat wave in New York has made walking around outside less than enjoyable. While father and son are happy to be reunited full-time, it is hard on David not being able to hold him or roughhouse with him. He can't drive or do any "heavy lifting" for a month, and Max clearly falls in the "heavy" category these days!

Even the staff at the hospital noticed that Max grew over the course of David's hospital stay. He weighed 16.5 pounds at his six month check-up and I can only imagine how much he weighs now. His appetite is insatiable; tonight he tried chicken soup and it was a hit! I am excited that my little nugget is eating, and more importantly, enjoying big boy food. As you can see, he is getting more mobile everyday. Maybe he will drive his daddy and I back to Virginia.

Our household consists of four people- David, my husband, Max, our four year old son, Kira, our one year old daughter and me, Marissa. I initially created this site as an efficient way to share medical information about David and Max. On December 24, 2011 baby Max was born with a cleft lip and palate, and five weeks later, his daddy, David, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Both boys underwent three surgeries, dozens upon dozens of doctor appointments, and far more needle pokes than a pin cushion. The year 2012 was filled with the overwhelming joys of watching Max grow to the heartbreak of watching David and him in pain. It was truly the best and worst year. But by the end of the year, both father and son received hard-fought clean bills of health. Max will have more surgeries in the future, but for now we are just enjoying his big, beautiful smile and all of the silly antics that go along with it.